The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters, Simon Bako Lalong, on Tuesday cleared the air over allegations that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deliberately fixed the 2027 general elections to clash with the Ramadan period.
His intervwntion came while seconding the motion for rescission and recommittal of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2026, Lalong dismissed the claim as misleading and unfounded.
“Mr. President, I also move to support exactly the presentation made by the Senate Leader… all the reasons given are correct because all of us worked on this document for over two years,” he said.
He then directly addressed what he described as a wrong public notion.
“Let me also correct the impression going round that the current INEC Chairman deliberately fixed this date knowing fully well that it will coincide with the Ramadan,” Lalong stated.
Providing context, the Plateau South senator explained that the election timetable was not newly introduced by the current INEC leadership.
“For the benefit of those who were here in 2019, it was the former INEC Chairman that reeled out the timetable from 2019 to 2030… so this timetable is not today,” he said.
Lalong emphasized that the schedule had long been in place and that the coincidence with religious observances was not intentional. He noted that the ongoing legislative review was precisely to address such concerns through proper amendments.
“When it coincides like this there are provisions given by amendments… so I stand to support the presentation,” he concluded.
The Senate subsequently adopted the motion to rescind its earlier decision on the Electoral Act amendment bill and recommitted it to the Committee of the Whole for comprehensive reconsideration, paving the way for adjustments that would allow INEC to review its timetable without conflicting with major religious observances.
